Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
The verse opens a prophecy concerning a land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, characterized as shadowing or rustling with wings. In its historical-geographical application the land is the southern part of Africa. The description applies literally to that country and its people, as a place marked by hardship and oppression.
Another identification of the subject of the prophecy is the New World. The land is identified by many as the United States of America. It may encompass the wider Anglo-Saxon world.
Its shadowing wings signify protection extended over subject peoples, perhaps pictured by the American eagle. Its ensign is the last message, originating in the United States, and those who accept it will be like refreshing dew amid the spiritual barrenness of the last days. That message goes out before the harvest, when the wicked are cut away, the plagues last for a year through summer and winter, and God's children are gathered home. The nation described as scattered and peeled may refer to China, as a land divided and spoiled by its rivers.
The verse opens a prophecy concerning a land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, characterized as shadowing or rustling with wings. In its historical-geographical application the land is the southern part of Africa. The description applies literally to that country and its people, as a place marked by hardship and oppression.
Another identification of the subject of the prophecy is the New World. The land is identified by many as the United States of America. It may encompass the wider Anglo-Saxon world.
Its shadowing wings signify protection extended over subject peoples, perhaps pictured by the American eagle. Its ensign is the last message, originating in the United States, and those who accept it will be like refreshing dew amid the spiritual barrenness of the last days. That message goes out before the harvest, when the wicked are cut away, the plagues last for a year through summer and winter, and God's children are gathered home. The nation described as scattered and peeled may refer to China, as a land divided and spoiled by its rivers.